Each Thursday (or Friday, since some weeks we seem to be running behind on everything), Needcoffee.com's staff of whackos will wrack our brains to give you interesting and new things to do over the weekend. Books, movies, whatever. We'll throw them out, you do with them what you will. And hey...if you have something you want to recommend--whatever it is--drop us a line.

Incidentally, we've provided links where we can for you to buy the stuff or find out more if you're interested, courtesy of those Amazon types. Hey, come on, we can't be totally selfless in this, can we?

August 1, 2002

Book of the Week: Kiss Kiss by Roald Dahl. If you're only familiar with such wonderful whacked children's lit as James and the Giant Peach and The Witches, then guess what--Dahl wrote twisted stuff for grownups too. Unfortunately, all of his collections appear to be out of print, but they should be relatively cheap to pick up someplace used. A must read for any writer, it's amazing how just a little twinge toward the odd can lead to disturbing results.

Graphic Novel of the Week: Ruse: Enter the Detective by Mark Waid & Butch Guice. A detective whose Sherlock Holmes on crack, Simon Archard, and his secretly supernatural partner, Emma Gibson, delve into the mysterious crimes in the city of Partington. When Waid is on he's on and when he's off, he's really far off. Luckily, here he's on, and so is Guice, whose pencils have never looked better. We can't wait for the next installment.

DVD of the Week: Amélie. Somehow I missed this in cinemas and I've been kicking myself ever since finishing it last weekend. An amazing film that lost the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar because of the Academy's need to award a decent film trying to make a Statement About War as opposed to probably the most well-acted, well-written, and well-shot delightful film of last year. Don't be morons like the Academy, run out and grab it immediately. The DVD is choice, by the way.

CD of the Week: The Chieftains' Tears of Stone. Celtic soul with more than a touch of blues, Tears of Stone collects female vocalists such as the Corrs, Bonnie Raitt, and Loreena McKennitt to create something amazing. Not as cheerful and joyful as you might expect from the Chieftains and Irish drinking music, this album is much more like their previous effort, The Long Black Veil.

Beverage of the Week: Whoopass by Jones Soda. If you've never wanted to open up a can of Whoopass, now's the time. This is an energy drink from the same people who brought you terrifingly colorful sodas in bottles with really odd pictures on the labels. Although it's not the absolute best energy drink I've ever had, it ranks up in the top 10%. What they lack in flavor they make up for in attitude. Just read the warning label and see what I mean.

Missing Person of the Week: Judge Crater. Said he was going to a Broadway show, never was seen or heard from again. Andrew Lloyd Webber has that effect sometimes.